Orla Gartland, whose upcoming US tour which commences in November of this year, has opened up about the trouble of touring the US as an Indie artist from Ireland. The Irish singer-songwriter and musician has honestly revealed to the BBC the difficulty many smaller artists encounter within the changing touring industry, as they attempt to break into US mainstream.
As Harry Styles can sell out 6 nights at Wembley Stadium whilst Taylor Swift can earn a whopping $2 billion in ticket sales, it is easy for music fans to believe that an artist’s touring money pot is endless. However, with increasing demands on smaller British artists to tour and break into America, the practicality of artists hosting a tour across the pond has become less and less viable.
In the post-Pandemic touring scene, monetary problems have not only been apparent for fans who have experienced an immense increase in ticket prices, but for the artists who are touring and have to encounter the increased costs of putting their show on the road, crew fees and accommodation, van hire and petrol.
As Orla Gartland spoke to the BBC about her newly released album, Everybody Needs A Hero, which released October 4, Gartland shared an unspoken reality for many artists like herself who are touring the States for the first time.
Gartland expressed: “the amount of money I’m going to lose on that tour is eye-watering”. She revealed exactly how much: “about 40 grand”. This extraordinary amount of money will see Gartland tick off a quest on her bucket-list, her desire to complete a US tour since she was 13 posting on YouTube under ‘MusicMaaad’. Her determination to see this tour through, emerged through her growing excitement following the tour selling out. She continued: “I’ve never gigged there properly, so putting this tour on sale was a real fingers-crossed-behind-the-back moment… it was so cool when it sold out”.
Gartland will be heading to the US in early November for 13 shows, performing to thousands of fans in various cities, including: Boston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The ‘Why Am I Like This’ singer, experienced increased popularity after Netflix used the track in their teen drama Heartstopper. This track was streamed more than 1.4 million times America.
Despite confronting the reality of losing money during her US tour, Gartland expects the tour to be a “fun” and “gnarly” couple of weeks.
Gartland is not the only artist to acknowledge the challenges of touring the US in recent years. English electronic band, Metronomy cancelled their US tour in 2022 due to its impending costs. Popular British rapper, Little Simz also cancelled her US tour in 2022 revealing the cost of funding the tour would leave her in financial deficit. However, more recently, indie singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri who released her debut What A Devastating Turn of Events this year, cancelled her appearance as a support act on Remi Wolf’s upcoming US Tour in August, stating on X: the “financial strain of touring has become too much”.
I’ll try my best to come and see you all soon , I promise pic.twitter.com/s0fWgpqsks
— rachel (@rachelchinourir) August 20, 2024
The likelihood of independent artists touring the US with the increased boundaries of cost has evidently become a defining risk in their careers. Unless costing becomes more viable, fans can expect to see less independent artists making the decision to tour the US.
